Deep Dive: Italicus
In the US, just about the only bergamot we get is in tea; but, it should be in your bar too
I was first exposed to Italicus on a trip through Italy 2 years ago, and I really enjoyed it! I had it as a “traditional” spritz where it was added to Prosecco and sparkling water. It was a fun alternative the ubiquitous Aperol Spritz and on balance I think I preferred it. But I didn’t think about it much once I left Italy.
That all changed when I started writing about Pernod Ricard and saw that Italicus is one of their splashiest recent acquisitions. So I bought some and started drinking highballs. And then as I dove deeper into the business, I became pretty convinced that this little brand could actually be a major needle-mover for them.
But I still didn’t know much about it. Let’s fix that.
History
There are really only 2 things you can get from the front of the Italicus bottle: whatever “rosolio” is and bergamot. Bergamot is a wonderful little citrus native to the Mediterranean that you probably only really know as the citrus notes in Earl Grey tea, so you expect something vaguely orange-y. But what’s a rosolio?
Rosolio, Generally
The #1 thing to take away here is that “rose” has absolutely no place here (nor any other flower), that’s just a Latin vocabular similarity that isn’t real. Rosolio is an ancient category of Italian liqueurs that is effectively the progenitor god of the now-popular vermouths and amari.
It was easy to make, requiring just alcohol, sugar, water, and whatever flavoring agents you had on hand. It was, as vermouth and amaro is now, a standard aperitivo offering that was often a house recipe up until the mid-19th century. This was especially true in southern Italy and Sicily. The most common flavoring agents were - appropriate to the areas where it was popular - citrus fruits, herbs, and nuts.
But, as Italy unified and developed, the largely homemade category gave way to larger, more industrial beverages. Rosolio persisted in obscurity for over a century as a result.
Italicus, Specifically
In a bit of poetic circularity, the product that has brought rosolio back from the dead was first created by a man who had spent a long time selling vermouth.
Italicus is the brainchild of Giuseppe Gallo who, based on my previous statement and the name, you may associate with Gallo vermouth. BUT YOU’D BE WRONG. He’s a bartender who spent quite a while as a brand ambassador for Martini. He claims the recipe is based on one his own family used for their house blend, and he created Italicus in 2016 with the explicit hook of reviving the rosolio category. It won Best New Ingredient from Tales of the Cocktail the following year, and generally seems to have grown quickly from there.
Some time before 2020 (I cannot find when for some reason), the brand received a large investment from DeKuyper, a large Dutch producer, and that helped fuel the brand. Growth appears to have primarily been in industry, focused on bar partnerships and promoting cocktail lists. and it appears to have had a ton of success with this in England specifically given some of the bar lists promoted from the time. This strategy also makes sense because it’s famously difficult for an independent brand to break into retailers since they already struggle to find distributors that they can afford.
Acquisition by Pernod Ricard
In March 2020, basically the day the world shut down, Pernod Ricard bought DeKuyper’s stake in Italicus taking a full 50% position in the brand. In effect, this solves the distribution problem because now the #2 producer is the distributor directly. Gallo at the time was extremely ambitious:
Since its launch the brand has experienced success with both the on-trade and consumers, and it is now time to consolidate with this heavyweight strategic partner in order to accelerate our global distribution. We have an ambitious plan to build Italicus into one of the world's most successful aperitivo brands.
In Italian publications, the goal was even more direct: to conquer the aperitivo category in the US. Hard to tell whether or not that’s on-track, but I do think that’s the right idea and it’s a critical component of the parent company success in this market.
Profile
That’s more than 700 words on the bottle itself, so what about what’s actually in it?
It’s a 20% ABV bitter liqueur with strong orange-y notes. If that sounds like Aperol, you’re really not too far off (though they couldn’t look more different). The orange is the dominant note, with some higher-ester citrus (technically citron, but reads like lemon), and a bitter depth derived from chamomile, gentian, lavender, and (yes) rose petals.
It’s very sweet, but not quite cloying - you wouldn’t want a ton of it alone, but it’s maybe limoncello adjacent so it works. But it’s definitely better mixed, and it mixes really well.
With Soda as a Highball
Honestly, I prefer this to a truer spritz with some sparkling wine. Just good bubbly water disperses the sweetness, highlights those higher-ester notes, plays down the bitterness just a touch, and stays deliciously orange-centered.
1 part Italicus, 2 parts soda, and a lot of ice and you have an excellent afternoon sipper.
White Negroni Riffs
The “standard” white negroni, if there is one, is probably Gin, Lillet (also a PR brand) and Suze. So it’s very focused on punching up the botanicals in the gin and adding some depth. To me, that drinks even heavier than a “true” negroni despite the less intense color suggesting a calmer drink.
But I think swapping in Italicus as the primary modifier might solve that issue.
I’ve experimented with an all-equal-parts cocktail of Gin Mare, Italicus, and Martini Extra Dry and it’s a very good drink. The nose is super crispy, the finish is sweet but still very botanical, and the orange is prominent. If you drink it, and you’re familiar with negronis, you’ll immediately think “white negroni.” But I don’t think it’s perfect - yet.
You’ve inspired me to buy a bottle of this and give the white Negroni a go. I’ve only had Italicus once, but it sure does sound fabulous. Cheers!